American Idol Season 10 Top 6 Performance Live Blog

And what an exciting night it will be. We will have 9 performances, both solo and duets, of Carol King songs in 90 minutes. Miley Cyrus and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds are rumored to join Jimmy Iovine as mentors. Does that mean we have seen the last of Will.I.Am or do we need more furniture in the recording studio?

As I discussed in myAmerican Idol Season 10 Top 6 Power Rankings, every one of the six remaining Idols needs to step up their game this week. With a bad performance, any of them could end up in the bottom 3. However, Jacob Lusk, Haley Reinhart and Casey Abrams must stand out to stay in the competition. It looks like James Durbin and Christian musicians Lauren Alaina and Scott McCreey are positioning for the finals at this point.

But enough speculation, it is time to for the show so join us as we live blog the American Idol Season 10 Top 6 perform songs of Carol King.

Jacob Lusk launches the show with “Oh, No Not My Baby.” Jacob Lusk just delivered a lesson in singing that no one else will be able to follow. This early 60′s soul tune allowed enough room for Jacob to riff and skat and really sing. The judges were luke warm but I loved it. If Jacob leaves tonight it will be on a number that shows his promise as a recording artist and a performer.

Lauren Alaina meets Miley Cyrus and she geeks out. I did not really like the pace of the song or her stage performance. It was a little rambling and unfocused. The singing was really good. The judges are trying to find things to compliment about the performance. They are saying just about the same thing they said to Jacob but the tone and structure of the feedback makes it sound very positive. This was one of Lauren Alaina’s best vocals but I would have liked to seen a better stage performance.

Haley Reinhart and Casey Abrams are our first duet. They will sing “I Feel The Earth Move.” Haley Reinhart should have sung this song as her solo performance. She was pretty terrific. Casey Abrams was good as well. These two are good together.

Time for Scott McCreery to step out of his comfort zone with “You’ve Got A Friend.” The judges criticized Scott for the first time last week and it may have ignited Scott’s competitiveness. Let’s see. Yep, Scotty the competitor showed up. I think that was his most tender, expressive and romantic performance of the season. It showed maturity and depth. he stretched his vocals in a way I have not seen this season. Randy was right that we heard a tone from Scott we have not heard in Season 10. Steven is right in that he found just the right song that showed off all he can do. That may have just ended the competition for the American Idol Season 10 title. Scott McCreery just created a country song that millions of females will buy this week. “You’ve Got A Friend” may be Scott’s best performance of the season.

James Durbin is now singing a love song, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” Jimmy Iovine was stoced about the rehearsal. I can see why. That was beyond perfect. James Durbin has a tremendous voice and he just stripped away all of the over staging of the last three weeks to show us he is as good a singer as we have ever seen on American Idol. The beginning, as a beautiful ballad, was mesmerizing. Then he broke into a soaring rock arrangement that really worked. J-Lo said it was magical and Randy said it was incredible. I must agree with the judges for the first time in several weeks. That was one of the best performances of the season.

Another duet. Christian musicians Scott McCreery and Lauren Alaina sing their third duet of the season. They are singing “Up On The Roof.” Lauren really over powers Scott in the choruses. That was probably the worst duet of the three. J-lo thought Lauren sang some body part off, but she refused to say it.

Casey Abrams is up next with “Hi De Ho.” That was a perfect song for Casey. Jazzy, bluesy with plenty of room for his playfullness. Well done, Casey. Randy and Steven loved it. J-Lo is right that he was in his element but wants to see him his loosen up his body a little. That was one of Casey’s best performances in the past several weeks.

Haley Reinhart closes the solo performance with “Beautiful”, an less known song from Tapestry. The dark horse is bolting down the stretch. That was incredible. When Haley connects with the song it becomes special and this was special. Steven said he heard the voice of God. With performances like that, Haley Reinhart could make it to the finals two.

James Durbin and Jacob Lusk are lumped together into a duet of “I’m Into Something Good.” The two big voices throw down and it is a fun way to end the show.

Haley Reinhart, Scott McCreery and James Durbin made statements tonight. Lauren Alaina‘s was the weakest of this night’s really good performances. I am afraid Jacob Lusk is in trouble tomorrow night.

Join us tomorrow night to find out who goes home when we live blog the American Idol Season 10 Top 6 results.

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